As a teenage Jewish girl struggles with anorexia, her decisions about whether or not to live affect those close to her and are influenced by survivors of the Holocaust.
Survival
A Meeting Of Minds
“How dare these authors put us in a book? Believe me, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind.” It was a good idea, Coren told himself. Assuming, of course, that Lenora could actually find a piece of her mind that they didn’t already have in their possession. Suddenly transported against their will, the Princess Lenora and her fiancé, Prince Coren, find themselves in a strange place — bone-chilling cold and snow outside, garish marketplaces and angry people inside. The inhabitants call it the city of Winnipeg. Lenora and Coren, however, have no idea where it is or why they are there. They can’t return home because, yet again, their imaginitive powers have deserted them. The Winnipeggers refuse to believe Lenora and Coren are who they say they are. Strangely enough, though, they have read about Lenora and Coren in a series of fantasy novels by the authors Carol M. and Perry N. But just who created whom, Lenora and Coren wonder. And how will they ever manage to escape this frightening city, worse than their worst nightmare, so that their long-awaited wedding can finally take place?
Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story
By the time WWII ended in Europe, the Blumenthal family–Marion, her brother Albert, and their parents–had lived in a succession of refugee, transit, and prison camps for more than six years, not only surviving but staying together. This memoir is written in spare, powerful prose that vividly depicts the endless degradation and humiliation suffered by the Holocaust’s innocent victims, as well as the unending horror of life in the camps.
Escaping into the Night
Thirteen-year-old Halina Rudowski narrowly escapes the Polish ghetto and flees to the forest, where she is taken in by an encampment of Jews trying to survive World War II. Based on historical events, this gripping tale sheds light on a little-known aspect of the Holocaust: the underground forest encampments that saved several thousand Jews from the Nazis.
Stones in Water
The day Roberto and his friend Samuele are rounded up by German soldiers and put on a train marks both a beginning and an end. The boys have now become part of the war, providing forced labor for the Nazis at various work camps deep inside German territory. And it’s the ending to all they’ve known — before their lives as children in Venice, their innocence. For Roberto, the present is unbearable — backbreaking work, near starvation, and protecting Samuele’s secret that, if discovered, would mean death for both boys. Escape is Roberto’s only hope, but the Russian winter is upon the land — and any hope seems remote.
Smile!
After surviving a plane crash in the jungle, Flash, a photographer, is taken to a remote village where his instant camera works magic for those who have never seen a photograph.
Little Brother
“Fleeing from the Khmer Rouge soldiers, Vithy becomes separated from his older brother, Mang, as they escape from Cambodia into Thailand. . . . As Vithy makes the dangerous journey, he comes to rely on his own wits and instincts. Historical novel, adventure, and character study, this book takes readers to another place and time”.–Booklist. American Bookseller Pick of the Lists; NCSS-CBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies; Bank Street Child Study Children’s Book Assn. Children’s Book of the Year.
Sparrow Girl
Ming-Li looked up and tried to imagine the sky silent, empty of birds. It was a terrible thought. Her country’s leader, Chairman Mao had called sparrows the enemy of the farmers–they were eating too much grain, he said. He announced a great “Sparrow War” to banish them from China, but Ming-Li did not want to chase the birds away. As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, Ming-Li held her ears and watched in dismay. The birds were falling from the trees, frightened to death. Ming-Li knew she had to do something–even if she couldn’t stop the noise. Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one.
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
Wildflower Girl
Thirteen-year-old Peggy O’Driscoll, left orphaned and homeless by the Great Famine of the 1840s, leaves Ireland to seek her fortune in America.
A Boat To Nowhere
Fleeing from agents of the new communist government in Vietnam, an old man and three children begin an endless and seemingly hopeless struggle for survival as boat people.